director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, complained in January that White House appointees within the agency had attempted to control the information released by him and other scientists. He said he was threatened with “dire consequences” if he continued to suggest that there's an urgent need to control emissions of greenhouse gases to stem global warming. Michael Griffin, the head of NASA, defended Hansen, saying “It is not the job of public-affairs officers to alter, filter, or adjust engineering or scientific material produced by NASA's technical staff.”